July 18, 2011

Mercy
Hart is as good as they come... or at least she's trying very hard to
be. Brought up in a strict, if not unkind, family she has been
imbued with her father's Puritanical values since birth and strives
to uphold his beliefs both privately and in the public arena. The
thing is, Mercy often feels that she's failing rather dreadfully –
be it the unruly hair escaping from her coif or her guilty yen for
pretty clothes, she can't quite seem to resign herself to a holy yet
drab future. However, she's doing pretty well until she attends an
evening at a friends hours and encounters the enigmatic Christopher
Turner. Kit is a man of the theatre – walking the boards and
streets with equal drama he is slowly making a name for himself, and
not just as the illegitimate brother of the Earl of Dorset. While
most definitely a ladies man, he is surprised when a quiet puritan's
daughter quite suddenly takes his breath away. Mercy and Kit are
therefore set on a path that neither ever expected to be upon but
both are determined to pursue despite family disapproval, murky
political intrigue and a complete unawareness of how the other half
lives...

Both
Mercy and Kit have equal time spent upon them during The Rogue's
Princess and this provides readers plenty of time to enjoy their
often hilariously differences. Mercy is the epitome of goodness,
dutifully spending her days praying and studying the scripture. W hen
she's not doing these things she's generally thinking that she should
be. She's a very sweet character, although sometimes rather
annoyingly naïve. Her character development is believable, from her
initial swooning over Kit to her slow realisation that she needn't
compromise her faith nor her ability to be true to herself just
because she has fallen in love. Like all the female characters in
Eve Edwards series of Elizabethan books she displays true backbone –
and because she starts of so quietly it's extremely satisfying to see
her come into her own.

Kit
is a joy to read. First introduced in The Queen's Lady as a
larger than life, somewhat angry young man, he has mellowed slightly
in the intervening months. While certainly still ebullient he is
clearly on easier terms with his personal history and certainly with
his half brothers, the Laceys. However, rather than rely on his
wealthy relatives he has continued to make his name upon the stage,
regularly performing at The Globe under his mentor, Burbage. Kit is
often very funny, his every action dramatic, his every garment garish
but he is also a touching character to read. His sweet determination
to woo Mercy regardless of convention is charmingly innocent for a
man so aware of the very distinct societal fault-lines of Elizabethan
England. Equally charming is the relationship he has with his half
brothers, particularly young Tobias – their interactions are funny,
believable and rather lovely.

As
with her earlier Elizabethan stories (The Last Countess and
The Queen's Lady), Eve Edwards has kept her story deceptively
simple and, at heart, rather predictable. Kit and Mercy are clearly
destined to be together and there are no real surprises in store on
that count – however, it is the subtly clever roads that Edwards
leads her characters down that make her stories so completely
readable. While it could be argued that the romance in The Rogue's
Princess is rather rushed, it's speedy commencement merely leaves
room to add in more interesting aspects. Elizabeth I
still looms large over London and has become increasingly paranoid in
recent times. While her Scottish cousin, Mary, languishes under
lock and key the Queen is determined to hunt down any who oppose her
and it is into these choppy and dangerous political times that Kit
and Mercy, as well as the Lacey's find themselves wading.

As
previously, Eve Edwards has the ability to weave fascinating history
into the lightest of stories and yet never veer towards incongruity.
In addition to the political scene of the day, she has added the
usual wealth of historical detail – her descriptions of fashions,
living conditions and societal expectations continue to be a delight
to read. Equally, her characters are beautifully drawn from the
central twosome and familiar Lacey's to master Player Burbage and a
dubiously hopeful young playwright going by the name of Will
Shakespeare. As with The Other Countess
and The Queen's Lady,
I sat down to read The Rogue's Princess
with some doubt in my mind – as I keep insisting, historical
fiction just isn't my bag, baby - yet it is impossible to not be
drawn into these charming stories that are on one hand gloriously
fluffy and on the other intriguingly interesting, I will certainly be
reading whatever comes next.

The Rogue's Princess is available now, thank you to Puffin for
sending me a copy to review. Additionally, if you're a UK book
blogger then keep an eye on the new look UKBT for a tour of this
title.